Ocean Acidification : What's the threat?

[@mattw9764]

An excellent primer to Ocean Acidification. Everyone should watch this. Twice.

[@WadcaWymiaru]

Poor as many of that...

[@lostyourmarble]

I love your channel. It's so educationnal and gives me hope. Thank you

[@davehendricks4824]

lostyourmarble Hope?

[@ronkirk5099]

I'm a retired engineer so I knew about Carbonic Acid formation in the oceans as a result of increased CO2 in the atmosphere, but I wasn't aware of the equilibrium for the reactions. The Bjerrum Plot was very interesting. Thanks for the informative video.

[@junkyard1675]

Wonderful job explaining, how these things work. Thanks for your work.

[@JustHaveaThink]

Hi Junk Yard. Thanks for your feedback. It's very much appreciated. I'm delighted you enjoy the programmes. I hope you'll continue to find future episodes useful. We're trawling through the detail of the IPCC report at the moment so the most recent episodes have been a bit 'heavy', but there's loads of good stuff coming up through December and into the New Year. All the best. Dave

[@junkyard1675]

I am systematically watching all your past episodes while catching all your new ones. Keep up the great work.

[@LightSearch]

I have a reef tank and in such a tiny volume of water many of the things you said can easily be observed. That being said, any seasoned reefkeeper can tell you that the corals need most of all, stability. You can keep them at lower than optimum pH as long as it is stable. Corals will long be dead before really being affected by acidification.

[@TheLosamatic]

@Alfredo Reid Cruz Carey'sfort, spellings wrong, was the first reef off Key Largo been over ten years it was called dead. The Elbows next one down was starting to look a little shabby last time I got to see it that again was over ten years ago. The only reason to live in Florida is to be able to snorkel over the reef! Its an incredible feeling being surrounded by so much life! To see the thrill rush thru ones young kids was pretty amazing too! If only the deniers could experience that, yes some are so indoctrinated in their ways they probably would not notice anything, but some certainly would!

[@davidl7367]

Really good demonstration. Very clear. Thanks

[@mightymouse3054]

More links please. Absolutely love your presentations and shed LOL

[@matthorrocks6517]

Wow good stuff. Going back into a famous youtubers early videos is well worth it. Look at ur passion and knowledge. Thank you for keeping on. I think thats how they say it in englands english.

[@dogphlap6749]

+Just Have a Think I've taken a bit of an interest in ocean acidification and its affect on phytoplankton. As I understand it at least half our atmospheric oxygen comes from phytoplankton so killing a substantial percentage of them off via oceans with too low a pH and or too high a water temperature would be curtains for us, all mammals and in fact any life form that needs >15% oxygen to survive (possibly good news for anaerobic bacteria and plants). So ignoring the possibility of H2S producing bacteria gassing us just at what pH and temperature will it be too late to try breathing unassisted without a handy tank of oxygen ? This could be the perfect opportunity for a graph with two plots, one showing pH and the other temperature against anticpated atmospheric partial pressure of O2. Thank you for your good works.

[@JustHaveaThink]

Hi Dogphlap. Thanks for your comment. That's very interesting additional information. I'll definitely check this out as I go through the next few programmes. All the best. Dave

[@webchimp]

Another interesting effect of warming water is that as water warms it gets more fluid. At the scale of plankton water would be relatively thicker. As the water warms and effectively becomes thinner those tiny creatures when the are swimming about get less of a push against it. So a creature seeing prey pushes against the water and might miss as it doesn't travel as far as it expected.

[@richardgarnsey2202]

I have a comment on program #20 about ocean acidification. Sorry it is 2 years late but I have only just discovered “JUST HAVE A THINK” which I enjoy and am very impressed. The message was misleading partly because most viewers will not take notice of your caution at the end of the program. The pteropod shell dissolution off the coast of North America was a consequence of dilution caused by melting ice not CO2 addition. The solubility of calcium carbonate is proportional to the product of total calcium and carbonate ion concentration. Dilution reduces the calcium and carbonate concentration as well as reduce the pH and increase the bicarbonate to carbonate ratio. Addition of CO2 does not dilute calcium and it increases the CO2, bicarbonate and carbonate concentration as well as reducing the pH. It also provides food for plant like plankton and ultimately all ocean life. When there is plenty of calcium ion and other necessary nutrients the addition of CO2 actually increases the growth of shell forming organisms. Concentrations of CO2 that reduce pH well below 7 would be bad news but we know that garden snails thrive at pH7 so many shellfish species will cope with a pH of 7.8 if necessary nutrients are available. You can argue that it was the increased CO2 in the atmosphere that caused the increase in ice melt and hence the dilution in the northern Pacific Ocean but if you extrapolate to the whole ocean then you must also consider the effect of erosion and dissolution of the land. This has been going on for hundreds of millions of years and the result is a salty ocean that is alkaline. JUST HAVE A THINK.

[@9squares]

You wont need to worry about ocean acidification becoming extreme by 2100, we'll all be long gone by then

[@davehendricks4824]

Tim Christensen Ah, an intelligent person with an HONEST reply!

[@voiceforjusticeandproporti5543]

Wait? What? No. People born in the last 10 years may still be around.

[@aldoushuxley5953]

@@voiceforjusticeandproporti5543 There is also a lot of research into aging recently. (If you are interested, look for the research by David Sinclair). We might very well live longer than our ancestors, so at least some of us will probably be still around

[@vecseyadam1992]

I think Tim's right. We'll either kill each other by then (by a nuclear war or by other means, e.g. tons of chemical weapons... but even "simple" and "victim-less" experimental nuclear explosions under the water, under the ground or high in the air [which should be mostly banned by now] could raise the global presence of gamma-ray to a level that will render plants and most animals [our food] inedible - starving ourselves to death -, and also practically make more and more people develop cancer), or we'll kill ourselves some other way... I mean, we'll force mother nature to kill us, e.g. our lifestyle could raise the sea level too high, too high temperatures could cause severe damages and catastrophes, desertification, too little amount of fresh water (which might very well cause wars), or poison our fresh water sources with nuclear and chemical stuff, etc. And these things just amplify and worsen one another, and even happen simultaneously. Also, let's take into consideration that these things are quickening in our days, and our world could pretty much end by 2100. It's sad and I don't want this to happen, but it could, and - quite objectively - it seems like this will happen sometime, be it 2100 or even 2050. But some of these could end us even earlier, tomorrow or the next week. You never know. P.S.: no pessimism here, just realism.

[@01274566465]

Great video. One question, how did life manage and flourish in the oceans 20 to 60 million years ago, when C02 was up to 1000ppm?

[@christinearmington]

Less she’ll-forming dependent?

[@michaeltodd5806]

Quite a complex topic. A good video!

[@JustHaveaThink]

Thank you Michael. Much appreciated. All the best. Dave

[@jerricknaylor9686]

Really like these! Keep it up!

[@chuckkottke]

Very well done Dave! A lot of thoughts rambling through my mind, what if we try to geoengineer the stratosphere with sulfuric acid droplets, as this falls back down will it pose a significant increase in ocean acidity?

[@ElkoJohn]

With half of the ocean coral reefs dead, and the other half projected to die in the next 10-15 years, another challenge for technology is how to stop & reverse the coral destruction.

[@JustHaveaThink]

I have a horrible feeling that ship may already have sailed. I hope not, but from what I gather it does look pretty grim :-(

[@kirstinstrand6292]

Perhaps the longevity of the coral population is a prognosticator of our lives, especially since half of earth's biodiversity has already vanished. Something to think about.

[@OldScientist]

Just have a think: there isn't a threat. As regards ocean acidification, it is estimated that the ocean’s global mean surface pH may have declined (i.e., become less alkaline and thus more “acidic”) by -0.07 to -0.08 in the last 200 years - from pH8.12 during pre-industrial times to 8.04 to 8.05 today (Wei et al, 2015). N.B. The decline in pH occurred before 1930. However, and very importantly when you look the data after CO2 emissions began rising precipitously in the 1930s, the oceans have become less “acidic”!!! By way of comparison, from one season to the next, or over the course of less than 6 months, pH levels naturally change by ±0.15 pH units, or twice the overall rate of the last 200 years. On a per-decade scale, the changes are even more pronounced. Oceanic pH values naturally fluctuate up and down by up to 0.6 U within a span of a decade, with an overall range between 7.66 and 8.40. This is decadal rate of pH change is larger than the overall 200-year span (0.07-0.08) by a factor of 8.

[@mikebonnell3160]

Dropping this thought in the internet ether...even though I've come across this vid months after release. Concerning the pteropod study. I question the practical application of it. I'm sure dropping a pteropod that's used to one level of Ph into one that's dramatically different, would cause it lots of anguish. But, doesn't Darwinism suggest that as the Ph levels change over time, that some variant of the pteropod that is more resilient to a more acidic ocean may evolve? If I'm sitting in 90° water and you plop me into 70° water, I'm sure to jump. But me (and variants of me) would hardly react at all, if the temp were gradually changed from 90° to 70°....no?

[@AaronGruber]

it's happening too fast for organisms to adapt

[@davehendricks4824]

Mike Bonnell But stay in that lower temp water and over time, your body temp would drop. Then what?

[@mikebonnell3160]

@@davehendricks4824 True. But perhaps versions of me, could be subsequently more adapted to the cold water and be able to deal with it. Not unlike a flatlander like myself would be dramatically affected at high altitudes, whilst some Nepalese folks live and work at those high altitudes with no ill effect....

[@voiceforjusticeandproporti5543]

@@mikebonnell3160 This would depend, I suppose, on the likelihood of survival long enough to have children and the likelihood of children to survive the environment they are born into. And the rate at which these children are born. Its possible. But would need to ask an expert.

[@pfcoop1]

You forgot to mention oceans are contained in basalt rocks which has the affect of neutralizing acid.

[@waynecartwright7276]

this is why your gas boiler condensate is acidic. The average gas boiler is acidifying a ton of water a year.

[@davehendricks4824]

So as I see it, the ocean collapse is underway. 5 years to starvation for those relying on saltwater organism diets.

[@tomkelly8827]

I think that evolution will help, luckily the oceans do not change fast since they are so incredibly vast so these changes will happen slowly enough for most of the life there to adapt and continue thriving with all the changes in temperature and pH. Personally, I think that personal hydrogen blimps should replace ICE and electric cars and roads. That will save so much CO2! No need for roads! Imagine the energy efficiency and they can travel much faster then cars and they can easily carry large battery backs to run fans and compressors and such. Also without the need to provide lift through force, it is the most energy efficient way to fly too. Quiet too

[@markhonea2461]

Tom Kelly 👍 but imagine the size the parking lot at 7-11 will need to be!😉

[@peterjohnstaples]

If you are THINKING, how are we going to become C02 clean without Nuclear power? any solution would be listened to intently.

[@thomasgeorgecastleberry6918]

See our Oceans are turning into soda pop.

[@daniellee8866]

Yes, let's have a think: if anthropogenic CO2 emissions constitute only 5% of the total CO2 emissions (95% being natural), why do we keep blaming humans for whatever effects CO2 has? And why do we want to spend trillions of dollars every year if we can't possibly change anything? That is, assuming that this simplistic and prejudiced understanding of CO2 makes any sense. In fact, the opposite effect may be true - increased CO2 in the ocean will make phytoplanktons and zooplanktons thrive more and on along the ocean food chain lead to thriving of ocean life.

[@mute1085]

So, in short, it may not melt our faces, but it will (and already does) melt faces of poor pteropods.

[@soultrick7474]

hands

[@ColoradoHiker]

You didn't take into account that the majority of sea bottom rock is basalt. Basalt is alkaline and will nuetralize acid.

[@JamalMunshi]

Thank you for that Colorado Hiker. I used to hike there too during my college days at the CSM